BLOGS

Dammit, Jerry/Gerry/Garry/Larry! Don't ask us how it's his fault that NBC is putting Parks and Recreation more or less on hiatus until January 2014, but he is, we just know it. Sadly, that news is true: due to some infuriating schedule switcheroos, we won't get the new Halloween episode of Parks and Rec until November 14 so it can be preempted for episodes of The Voice and an SNL special. After back-to-back episodes on November 14 and 21, there will be a break and we won't see Leslie Knope and Co. again until January 9, 2014. While Adam Scott assured fans nothing fishy is going on, it was heartbreaking enough when we had to deal with the uncertain future of Parks and Rec, but now that we have it back, we can't actually have it? And, nice try, but none of this will get any of us to watch Sean Saves the World because, you know, we have eyes.

While seven weeks without Parks and Rec seems like a fate crueler than most, luckily there are still ways to treat yo self. Yes, you can (and should) re-watch all of the previous seasons on Netflix (including the flawless Season 3), but we also came up with some other ways to watch members of the cast. As Perd Hapley might say, "There are other places to watch the stars of Parks and Recreation and these… are those places!"

Amy Poehler
A world without all-around perfect person Amy Poehler is one none of us should have to endure, and luckily, even without Parks and Recreation, it is not an option. We still have a little bit of a wait for her return to co-hosting the Golden Globes with Tina Fey (Sunday, January 12), but we'll get to see those two goddesses together in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues in theaters December 20. Amy will also provide one of the voices for the animated kids flick Free Birds which arrives on November 1. In the meantime, YouTube provides a wealth of reminders that Amy Poehler is not only hilarious and beautiful, but she is hilarious and beautiful and inspirational and wise, as evident in her empowering web series "Ask Amy". And when in doubt, just watch Wet Hot American Summer for the thousandth time

Adam Scott
Like Amy, you'll get to see Adam on the big screen this winter (he co-stars in Ben Stiller's whimsical adventure The Secret Life of Walter Mitty on Christmas day), but you can also catch him playing someone that's an even bigger Human Disaster than Ben Wyatt: John Wilkes Booth. The actor played the actor/assassin, in a memorable episode of Drunk History worth checking out. Of course, if you're going classic Scott, you can find out why Party Down became a cult favorite with the reruns airing on the Esquire Network or watch him flex his dramatic muscles (and a few other parts of his body) in HBO's prematurely canceled Tell Me You Love Me.

Amy Poehler and Adam Scott
While you can enjoy Poehler and Scott individually, these two go together like waffles and everything and should be watched that way. When you aren't catching their recreation of the Hart to Hart opening credits for The Greatest Event in Television History, you can also see them in the indie comedy A.C.O.D.. Just a warning to any of you expecting to see some Ben and Leslie-esque action: the co-stars play stepmother and stepson in the movie.
Aziz Ansari
No matter how you feel about Tom Haverford, you have to give credit where it's due to the funny man when it comes to comedy. While Ansaris been at the stand-up game for some time, he's been honing his craft and putting out comedy specials that just keep getting better. Following up on his 2012 special Dangerously Delicious, his latest, Buried Alive, is his funniest and most personal one yet. (Don't worry, he's still making cracks at rappers). The special will debut on November 1 on Netflix (perhaps you've heard of this service), where you can find Ansari's others stand-up. For our money, the best one is still Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening, if only because it introduced us to the world of Harris.
Chris Pratt
Depends on which Chris Pratt you're in the mood for, really. If you're hankering for some recent svelte, buff Chris Pratt, you can watch him transform right before your very eyes as baseball player Scott Hatteberg in Moneyball or as one of the Seal Team Six members that takes down Osama bin Laden in the controversial Oscar-winner Zero Dark Thirty. If you miss the slightly pudgier, but always-adorable Pratt a la Andy Dwyer, you can watch him steal the show in the otherwise lackluster Five-Year Engagement. If you've seen all of those, never fear: Pratt appears in the bound-to-be-great latest from Spike Jonze, Her, which hits theaters in January.
Retta
Follow Retta on Twitter, watch whatever shows she is watching,and then read all of her commentary. You won't be sorry. Unless, of course, you're going to cry about spoilers or live tweeting, but that's all on you, friend. She makes television infinitely better…even the shows she's not on.
Rashida Jones
When she's not busy dividing the internet, beautiful tropical fish Rashida Jones is busy co-writing and co-starring in romantic comedies that for some reason fly under everyone's radar (see: Celeste and Jesse Forever). While Jones usually plays second fiddle, that doesn't mean she's not good at it. So, whether she's Paul Rudd's future bride (I Love You, Man) or his future sister-in-law (Our Idiot Brother), she knows how to play supporting, without fading to the background. You should also look for her in your yearly re-watching of Freaks and Geeks to find her as Karen the bully in the episode "Kim Kelly is My Friend."
Nick Offerman
In honor of Nick Offerman's absence from television, you should really whittle something out of wood or eat all the bacon and all the eggs, but you should also watch some of his non-Parks and Rec work. He and Kathryn Hahn (a.k.a. Ben's Washington D.C. boss Jennifer Barkley) stole the show in We're the Millers, but if you're going to check out one of Offerman's big screen roles from this year, it should really be the Sundance darling The Kings of Summer, in which he plays a struggling widowed father. Much like Ron Swanson, his character in the movie is a brawny fellow with a secret soft spot for those he cares about… even if he doesn't say it enough.
Aubrey Plaza
Like Offerman, Plaza appeared in an indie that should have had a bigger audience. Starring alongside New Girl's Jake Johnson and The League's Mark Duplass, 2012's Safety Not Guaranteed (available on Netflix) is a pleasant surprise…not just because the whimsical dramedy is full of them, but because Plaza plays against type as a hardworking, sincere young woman who falls for a social shut-in. April Ludgate might hate her in this movie, but we loved her.
Rob Lowe
You could read his bestselling autobiography Stories I Only Tell My Friends, but that might require a trip to the library and why would you want to upset Leslie like that? No, instead, you should just watch this scene from Drew Peterson: Untouchable again and again and again until you literally forget that this is what his face looked like in Behind the Candelabra.. More seriously, Lowe stars as JFK in Killing Kennedy, debuting November 10 on the National Geographic channel.

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